The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston
The MD-PhD Dual Degree Program integrates established and accredited medical and graduate programs into a highly competitive and selective dual degree program that combines the strengths of these two major University of Texas campuses. The program is administered by a joint faculty committee with members appointed from both institutions.

Students will be admitted by one of two pathways, the standard pathway (Academic Plan I) or the select admissions pathway (Academic Plan II).

Academic Plan I (post baccalaureate degree)
The standard pathway will admit students who have completed undergraduate degrees prior to entering the MD-PhD program each fall. Students accepted into this program will spend their first two years in medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, studying primarily pre-clinical basic sciences. They will then move to UT Austin for four to five years of Ph.D. coursework and research in Biochemistry (BCH), Biomedical Engineering (BME), Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB), Chemistry (CHE) or Neurosciences (NS). Medical studies will be completed with eighteen months of clinical rotations in either Austin or Galveston. During each phase of the program, students will participate in small group sessions and other exercises designed to help them integrate the newest concepts of biomedical research with applications to clinical medicine. The program culminates in the award of the Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry or Neurosciences by UT Austin and the M.D. degree by UTMB.

Academic Plan II (concurrent with senior year prior to graduation)
The select admissions pathway is restricted to students who are registered in an undergraduate degree program at the University of Texas at Austin. This pathway of the MD-PhD dual degree program differs from the standard pathway (Academic Plan I) in that students are accepted to the program during their junior undergraduate year and begin the program as senior undergraduate students at UT Austin. By completing graduate courses and/or laboratory rotations during this first year of the MD-PhD program, students are able to accelerate their progression into the research dissertation phase of Dual Degree MD-PhD degree. The benefits of this pathway to those students selected to participate include:

• Provides "early" admission to the MD-PhD program
   
• Removes financial and other costs associated with a regular application to the UT Austin Graduate School (application and transcript fees will be waived)
   
• Graduate courses taken during the senior year may count toward the undergraduate degree or be reserved for graduate credit.
   
• Students receive a stipend and payment of academic tuition/fees beginning in their senior undergraduate year, while participating in this program.

Continuation in Academic Plan II (Select Admissions)
Students selected for admission in Academic Plan II must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better, and fulfill all requirements for graduation from UT Austin by the August graduation prior to matriculation at UTMB. Students must also achieve a satisfactory score on the MCAT, in order to continue in the program and begin pre-clinical course work on the UTMB campus in Galveston. The joint faculty committee will ultimately determine whether the score on the MCAT is satisfactory; however, under most circumstances a score of 30 or greater would be considered satisfactory.